Between Order and Randomness
by AshesIntoFlames
Summary: I grab the offered hand and as our fingers touch and eventually grasp one another, I swear the earth stopped moving and my heart skipped a beat. “Spencer.”
1. Introduction

Hi! I know I probably shouldn't be posting a story while I already have one going but I just couldn't get this one out of my head, so here it is. For those that are reading ODAAT don't worry, I'll be updating that soon. But until then I hope you enjoy this new story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing...no seriously, even my original characters are based on my friends and even my own personality, so I really do own nothing.

Enjoy!

**Accepting Reality is the First Step to Insanity**

I walk out onto the back porch. The morning air still cool as it whips through my light jacket. I take a seat on the steel chair there and immediately register how cold it still is, a shiver runs through me but I remain seated. I look out into the distance, watching as two girls go back and forth on one of the tennis courts. The taller of the two obviously showing her skill in the sport. Glancing to the right, I look over the pit, see the many cars parked in its spaces, and just to the right of that I watch the soccer team conditioning, readying themselves for next year's season in the first of many unofficial practices. A smile crosses my face as I take in my surroundings, etching these memories into my brain, hoping they'll remain there long after graduation. Taylor Swift's "I Heart Question Mark" starts to play through the headphones in my ears, the familiar song taking over my senses. It's fitting that that song should play, that it's providing the background music to this moment of contemplation, but I turn it off anyway. Right now I like the sound of the silence, I like not hearing anything but my own thoughts, and as I place my Ipod into my jacket pocket, I'm met with that ever perfect silence and I can't help how relaxed I am. My smile grows that much more, hoping that this feeling, too, becomes something I'll always remember, the feeling of being relaxed and comfortable in this place.

I take a deep breath as I lean back into the chair. I love being out here, I love the absolute chaos and calm that is this place. I turn my head slightly and look into one of the basement windows. It's the common room in the hallway. I take a look around the room, my eyes scanning over the chairs placed around the table. For just a second I wonder what it would've been like to have been a freshman here, to have lived in this dorm and have this basement and this back porch be mine for the year. It doesn't matter really, I'm here now and that's what matters, but I can't help but wonder what if. I sigh as I turn to look back over at the view. I don't get to come out here as often as I would like, the demands of senior year being the cause. But when I can, when the perfect opportunity to escape arises, I jump at it, I soak up all the time I can before I have to return back to reality.

The vibrating phone on the table in front of me breaks through my silence. I look at it for a moment before sighing and picking it up. Flipping it open I see that I've gotten a text from Kyla.

"_Don't forget we're all meeting for lunch."_

I roll my eyes before getting up. Taking one last look out at the tennis courts and the pit, I turn around and head back to my dorm, walking past a few freshman coming back from breakfast. Scanning my ID I walk through the newly unlocked door and go to put the code in before walking through that door as well, and eventually up the stairs to the second floor.

"Fuck…" It's the first thing I hear as I walk through the door. Followed by "…that feels so good."

I roll my eyes as I find my roommate attached to the neck of the girl beneath her. Her hand moving between them but thankfully covered by her bed sheet, as moan after moan escapes their lips. I clear my throat hoping that would bring attention to the fact that I'm in the room, but as I watch the girl's back arch and her head get thrown back I know that they didn't hear me. I rub at my eyes as I take in a deep breath and release it slowly.

"You do realize it's like eight o'clock in the morning right?" My voice causes my roommate to remove her attention from the neck before her and place them on me.

"She has a ten o'clock class." She looks down then back up at me as she says this, never once ceasing her movements. She says it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and I can't help but roll my eyes. That's three eye rolls before I've even started my day, at this rate, who knows how many there'll be by nightfall.

I sigh. "Jess…" She's giving me the puppy dog look that she knows I can't resist. I foolishly attempt to be strong, to try and go against her pouting, but the longer she looks at me the more I can feel my resolve breaking.

"I'll be in the common room…and I better not hear one peep out of you two." I make my way to the door beside my bed.

"You won't…I promise."

"I better not. I'll see you later…bye Lola." I say as I walk completely into our common room.

"Bye." It comes out as more of a moan than anything else and I can't hold back eye roll number four as I close the common room door.

Taking a seat on one of the couches, I grab the remote and turn the TV on. Less than two minutes later the door on the other side of the common room opens and my suite mate walks in, wearing shorts and a half shirt. Not noticing me, she walks the short distance to the mini fridge and opens it up.

"Hey, Terri."

She turns around to find me laying on the couch watching CNN. "Hey, Spencer." She smiles before walking over and taking a seat on the couch opposite the one I'm on.

"What're you doing in here?"

"Jess and Lola." I say gesturing in the direction of my room.

"Ah, I see." She rolls her eyes and I can't help smiling.

"Yeah…what're you doing up?"

"I have class at ten."

"Oh."

She shrugs her shoulders and gets up off the couch. "Not all of us can start our days after noon."

I laugh a little and nod my head. "You could if you planned your schedule accordingly."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you at lunch." She waves goodbye and walks through the door and into her room. I go back to watching the TV and before long I've fallen asleep.

-

I don't know for how long I was asleep, but it seems all too soon I'm being woken from it by the person I'm assuming to be my roommate. "If you like that arm of yours, I'd stop shaking me if I were you."

And sure enough it's her. "You do know you don't scare me right?"

I ignore her as I attempt to bury myself deeper into the couch cushions. "I don't care, go away."

"Can't. Lunch starts in a half hour and we're discussing spring break."

"I don't care."

She laughs for a second and I can only assume she's shaking her head right now. "If you're gonna be difficult, I'll stop being nice."

I lift my head off of the couch and open one eye to look up at her. "Go. Away." I make sure I emphasize each word before placing my head back onto the couch cushion and attempting to get back to sleep.

"Fine, but remember you asked for it."

I start to get comfortable when I hear music coming from our room. I cover my ears as I try to block out the sound coming from the next room but it only seems to be getting louder and louder until it's blasting right against my ear. I sit up and stretch before getting off the couch, finding Jess standing there holding her laptop with a triumphant smirk plastered all over her face. "I hate you."

She just laughs. "Again I say, you asked for it."

I roll my eyes at her, bringing the total to a whopping five before noon, and make my way into our shared room. "You can turn that off now." I say over my shoulder.

"But I like this song."

"Yeah, well, I don't."

An evil smirk appears across her face before she starts to sing. "You get the best of both worlds. Chillin' out, take it slow, then you rock out the show." She even does a one arm air guitar.

She looks at me planning to continue before she sees the look plastered across my face and decides, instead, to turn the song off. "Thank you."

She sets her laptop down and walks over to her bed and takes a seat. "No problem."

I move to the sink in the corner of the room and open the medicine cabinet and grab my tooth brush and my toothpaste.

"So, you excited about spring break? After five o'clock today, we're free." She says as she flips through her magazine.

I turn around and lean back onto the sink as I put toothpaste onto my tooth brush. "Oh yeah, I'm so looking forward to being stuck in this room for 10 days."

She raises an eyebrow at me and shakes her head. "Why are you under the misinformed impression that you'll be spending spring break here when, in reality, you'll be in Myrtle Beach with us?"

"Because I'm not going with you guys." I say avoiding eye contact.

"Why the hell not?"

I shrug and turn back to the sink, looking at her through the mirror there. "I don't feel like it."

"And that's why you should come. Look, as far as I can tell, you're looking to mope around here for a week, when you could be on a beach, with your friends, drinking margaritas, and watching girls run around in their bikinis."

"As tempting as that sounds, I just don't feel like being around people."

"Too bad, cause you're coming." I shake my head, ready to argue when she cuts me off. "You're not gonna sit around moping over bitchtastic for a week. So, you're going of your own free will or I'll drag your ass there. Either way, you'll be sitting on a beach, with your friends, drinking margaritas, and watching girls run around in their bikinis. Got it?"

I sigh, knowing immediately I won't be able to change her mind. "Fine…and don't call her that."

"Why? It's only fitting." I smile before turning around and starting to brush my teeth.

There's a knock at the door and then it's opened. Lola walks in and Jess gets up to give her a kiss hello. "Hey, baby." She says as she smiles up at Jess, then turning to look at me she gives me a small wave. "Hey, Spence."

I nod my head in her direction, not being able to give her a verbal hello as a result of the toothbrush working around in my mouth.

She smiles at me for a moment before turning her attention back to her girlfriend. She's nervous for some reason and as the next words leave her lips, I instantly know why. "So…we need to talk."

Jess looks at me before returning her attention back to Lola. "Is this a we're-about-to-break-up-we-need-to-talk or is it more of a Spencer-needs-to-leave-because-we're-about-to-have-happy-naked-time-we-need-to-talk?"

I can't help but start laughing, that is until Jess sends me a glare, forcing me to pretend to be preoccupied with brushing my teeth and not listening in on their conversation.

"It's more of a I-have-news-you're-not-going-to-like-we-need-to-talk."

Jess sighs before grabbing her desk chair and taking a seat. "Okay, you know the drill." She says gesturing to her lap, to which, Lola lifts her skirt up slightly before straddling her lap. I can't help but smile and shake my head at their method of bad news delivery.

I watch through the mirror as Lola begins kissing all over Jess' neck, her left hand moving under Jess' shirt, while the right stays perched on Jess' hip. Jess has both her hands on Lola's thighs and is moving them back and forth.

"Okay, I hate to do this, but I'm calling a hand check here." I say as I turn to face them, leaning back against the sink.

"Spence." She's giving me her puppy dog look again, but this time I'm not looking at her.

"That's not going to work." I say to the ceiling.

"Fine." As I turn back around to rinse my mouth out, I see her raise her arms up in a surrender type fashion, her hands on either side of her face and holding them there. Lola is continuing her assault on Jess' neck as her hips start to grind into Jess' lap.

"I'm not doing spring break with you guys."

"What? Why?"

Lola kisses her neck a few times before answering. "I promised dad I'd go with him to Virginia."

Grabbing a towel off the hook, I wipe my mouth before turning around and walking to my desk and taking a seat at my desk chair as I start to lace up my shoes.

"Can't you do that some other time?"

She looks down at Jess' lips before looking into her eyes. "It's important to him."

"Well, spring break's important to me." They stare at each other for a long time. Both girls challenging the other, hoping the other will back down. Jess is the first to look away, a sigh escaping her lips. And, in that instance, all three of us know Lola has won. "Say hi to your dad for me."

Lola smiles before throwing her arms around Jess' neck and hugging her. "Are you mad?" She asks pulling back.

Jess gives her a strained smile before shaking her head, her hands still on either side of her face.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." Lola leans in and gives her a kiss that's quickly heading to a less than G rated place, despite Jess' hands still being on either side of her face. I start to clear my throat and point to the clock once Jess gives me her attention. "Okay, we've gotta go, but I'll see you after class." She says as Lola gets off her lap.

"Okay. I have to get to class anyway, love you." She kisses Jess one last time before making her way to the door.

"Love you too."

"I'll see you later Spence."

"Later." Once the door is closed behind her, I turn my attention to Jess, the amusement evident on my face. "Man, you're whipped." I start to laugh and she sends a pillow flying across the room and into my face.

"Shut up."

"Whatever, you ready to go?" She nods before grabbing her jacket and making her way towards the door.

We walk out of the room, me following behind her, stopping for a second to lock the door before making our way to the stairs and down to the lobby. Walking out of Clewell, we head in the direction of the Refectory, otherwise known as the Rat.

After piling two slices of pizza, some fries, and two oatmeal raisin cookies onto my plate and mixing Sprite and Lipton Ice Tea for my drink, Jess and I make our way to the table Kyla is currently sitting at.

"Hey, Ky." Jess and I seem to say in unison.

Kyla laughs. "Okay, that was weird…you two spend way too much time together."

"I know! I keep trying to get rid of her but she can't seem to take the hint." I roll my eyes for the sixth time before smiling at the both of them.

"So…spring break."

"Hold on. We're still waiting for Terri and Chelsea." I nod, taking a bite into my pizza.

"Well there's Terri." Jess says as she nods towards the front of the Rat. We watch as she scans her ID before making her way to the food. Turning my attention back to my own plate I see Jess' eyes move over Terri's body as a smirk appears on her face.

I shake my head before smacking her in the back of hers. "Stop."

She rubs at her head before setting her glare on me. "That was uncalled for…I was just looking."

"Yeah and if your girlfriend were here, you'd be dying." I return to my pizza while Kyla just laughs.

"Hey, guys." We look up to find Terri placing her plate on the table and smiling at each of us. Kyla and I both offer up a wave, while Jess decides to go with an insult.

"Big head."

Terri sighs. "You really wanna go there baby teeth?"

Jess just scoffs. "You don't scare me small ears." By this point, they're both grinning like idiots and Kyla and I are just shaking our heads.

"Don't make me attack your lazy eye."

"Well-"

"Stop!" Kyla says throwing her arms into the air. "I'm calling a truce, so sit your ass down and shut up until Chelsea gets here."

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late. I totally spaced on the time." Chelsea says as she sets her plate down and takes a seat between Terri and Kyla.

I smile at her before turning to face Jess, watching as she rubs the spot right above her left eye. Rolling my eyes, I lean in and whisper in her ear. "Before you even ask, you are the only one, I repeat, the _only one_ that can see the laziness in that eye, so just drop it."

"Okay, so you guys know the jest. We're staying at my parents condo in North Myrtle. I've been there a few times so trust me when I say, you won't be disappointed. Anyway, we're in the penthouse but there are only three rooms and since there are six of us, we have to decide who's rooming with who."

"It's actually just the five of us." Jess says as she sets her glass down.

"What happened to Lola?"

She shrugs. "Family thing."

"Okay, so it's the five of us. And I call my own room. So who's rooming with who?"

I'm still deciding when Chelsea starts to speak. "I call Spencer." Then turning to Terri, she says, "No offense but you don't sleep before two am and Jess, I don't think I can take your Hannah Montana obsession for ten days."

"Miley and it's not an obsession." Chelsea just shrugs and sips her drink.

"Great, now I have to deal with it."

"Shut it, big head."

Kyla rolls her eyes at Jess' childishness and continues. "Okay, issue number two. Who else is driving? I know I am and Chelsea's riding with me so decide amongst yourselves."

Jess and I both look at each other before nodding and speaking in unison. "Terri."

"Cool. I take it you two are riding with her." We both nod. "Alright, last thing is when do you wanna leave? I figure we can leave around eight tonight and get there around midnight or we can wake up at the ass crack of dawn and make the drive."

"I pick eight tonight. There's no way I wanna wake up before ten tomorrow." I say with a shrug.

"Same here."

"Agreed."

"Yeah, me too."

"Okay, cool. Terri and I will park outside of Babcock, I expect all of you there at seven thirty packed and ready to go. We'll load up, hit the gas station and go." We all nod. "Alright, well, I officially call this spring break meeting to an end."

I stand, grabbing my plate and cup. "Okay, well, I have class so I'll see you guys later." I get a chorus of goodbyes as I walk away from the table.

-

Walking out of my last class of the day, I smile knowing that my spring break has officially begun. I make my way to Clewell, leaving the FAC (Fine Arts Center) behind me. I reach the second floor and realize I still need to pack. Groaning loudly I push the door open and find Jess sitting at her desk, a newly packed bag sitting on her bed.

"You're already packed?"

She laughs lightly. "I only had one class and time to kill, of course I'm packed."

I groan and fall onto my bed. "Do you wanna pack my stuff?"

"No, I really don't."

"You couldn't just be nice, could you?" Sighing I get up off the bed and make my way to the closet, grabbing the bag there and going into my dresser to get my clothes.

A half an hour later I'm on my bed exhausted and completely packed. I turn over onto my side and can already feel the heaviness of my eyelids. "Okay, it's decided, I'm taking a nap. Wake me up at six thirty okay?"

She nods absentmindedly, too focused on the TV to pay much attention. "Yeah, no problem." I fall asleep to the sound of the Hannah Montana theme song.

-

I open my eyes when I hear a not so quiet, "Jess…" followed by a series of moans. I take a look at the clock, it's six thirty, at least she woke me up. Although, I would have preferred a different method. I roll my eyes as Lola starts on a litany of fucks.

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep my annoyance at bay. "Please tell me you two aren't doing what I think you're doing."

Lola's moan and subsequent, "Fuck," gives me all the evidence I need. Getting out of bed, I walk into my closet and grab my towel.

"I'll be in the shower and you two better be done when I get out." I don't even stay to hear their goodbyes. I walk out of the room and close the door behind me. I make my way to the bathroom and run into Chelsea.

"Hey, Spence."

"Hey."

"Do you know if Kyla and Terri are in their room?" She asks pointing down the hallway.

"No clue. I just woke up, unfortunately to the moans of your roommate."

"So, that's where she ran off to."

"Yeah."

"Well, I should go and let you get to your shower. I'll see you tonight." She waves goodbye as she walks a little further down the hall and towards Terri and Kyla's room.

"Later."

-

Walking out of the shower, I place my shower caddy on the rack against the wall before making my way back to my room. As I walk in, I take a look at the clock before getting dressed. I have fifteen minutes left to get ready.

"So, where's Lola?"

Jess looks up from the bag in her hands. "She's helping Chelsea and Kyla with the food and drinks and stuff."

"Oh, okay." Having finished getting dressed, I pick up my shoes and begin to put them on.

"You ready?" I look up and find Jess holding both my bag and hers. I nod and follow her out.

We make our way out of Clewell and the short distance to Babcock where we find Chelsea, Lola, Kyla, Terri, and a girl I've never seen before waiting for us. We reach them and Jess moves to the trunk of Terri's car and places our bags inside before closing it.

"Okay, so there's a slight change in plans."

I look up at Kyla curiously before my eyes land on the brunette beside her. She smiles at me, her eyes the most beautiful shade of chestnut brown I've ever seen. I notice her nose is wrinkled slightly and I can't help but think how cute it looks. She runs a hand through her brown locks before giving her attention back to Kyla.

"So it turns out my sister's gonna be joining us." Kyla says as she jumps off the hood of Terri's car and makes her way to her own. Everyone else follows suit, obviously not thrown by the change.

I stand there looking at her for a moment before she approaches me. Her body moving with a confidence I've never really seen in anyone else. She reaches out a toned arm in front of her as that nose wrinkling smile takes over her face again. "Hi, I'm Ashley." Her voice is husky as she speaks. It's the perfect blend of feminine softness and masculine assertiveness, and honestly, it's music to my ears.

I grab the offered hand and as our fingers touch and eventually grasp one another, I swear the earth stopped moving and my heart skipped a beat. "Spencer."


	2. I Don't Do Mornings

I'm back with an update. I hope you enjoy it, I even threw in some Spashley. Don't worry Alice, I'm working on an update for ODAAT, I just already had this thing written. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, they made me smile.

Disclaimer: I own nothing...no seriously, even my original characters are based on my friends and even my own personality, so I really do own nothing.

Enjoy!

**I Don't Do Mornings**

The brightness of the sun awakes me. It causes me to shut my eyes tightly before eventually blinking them open. Sighing loudly, I pick my phone up off the nightstand and flip it open. I have to try to focus the blur in my eyes a few times before the time finally registers in my mind. It's nine o'clock and I have to chuckle at the fact that despite my earlier statement, I have definitely woken up before ten. Rolling out of bed, I notice that Chelsea is not in the room, I figure she got an even earlier start than I did. As I stretch the last of the kinks out of my body, the smell of amazingness wafts into the room. I don't even think twice before I'm walking out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, finding a barely covered Ashley reaching for something on the top shelf.

My eyes roam over her face and body seemingly of their own accord. They move from the look of concentration on her face as a result of her futile attempt to reach the plate on the top shelf to the contours of her back. I indulge in the look of her back, the muscles there tensing and releasing as she strains for the plate. A smirk appears on my face as an idea pops into my head and before I even realize my decision to put it into action, my body is already moving toward her, my legs already closing the distance between us. Once I reach her, I press my body against hers, my left hand landing on her hip, my lips on her ear, my breathing shallow and my heart racing.

I lick my lips, my tongue coming into contact with her ear for just a second, before whispering in her ear. "Here, I'll get that." Then, using my extra bit of height, I grab the plate, bringing it down and setting it on the granite counter top. I can see the smile spreading on her face and as she turns around to face me, I'm given clear view of the accompanying nose wrinkle.

She stares into my eyes for a moment before she moves in closer, removing all the space between us as she presses her body against my own. She then leans up and whispers in my ear. "Thank you." And before turning around, she pulls my earlobe into her mouth and bites down on it gently before releasing it.

Picking up the plate, she walks over to the stove, adding an extra sway in her hips just for my benefit and giving me an even better view of her bra and underwear covered body. I don't bother trying to stop it as my eyes roam over her body for a second time. She turns to look at me, a smirk on her face. "See something you like."

I blush a deep shade of red but don't bother removing my gaze. "Something like that." A smile appears on her face and I can't help but return it. "Food looks good." I say gesturing to the stove in front of her.

"Thanks." She licks her lips and takes her bottom one between her teeth.

The way her eyes are now moving back and forth from my lips to my eyes, causes me to blush even more. "So, uh, I'm just gonna be in the shower."

The smirk makes its way onto her face once again as she begins to speak. "Is that an invite or status update?"

I smile as my blush finds it's permanent place on my cheeks. "That's entirely up to you." I wink at her before turning around and making my way to the bedroom to grab my things.

-

I walk into the dinning room after my shower, slightly disappointed that said shower was done alone. I find my friends and Ashley sitting around the table eating.

"Took you long enough." Jess says with an eye roll.

"Yeah, well, the water felt really good." I say, making a point of glancing at Ashley as the words leave my lips. She's smiling down at her plate. "Besides, not all of us can be awake at these ungodly hours."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't function before noon." They all laugh and I roll my eyes.

"Anyway, what's on the agenda for today?"

"We were thinking about hitting the beach." Kyla says from behind her glass. For the first time since I entered the dinning room, I notice that they're all in their bathing suit tops accompanied by very short shorts, with the exception of Jess, who has a white wife beater over her bathing suit top and blue swim trunks on. My eyes linger on Ashley just slightly, appreciating how well she fills out her black top and her well defined abs.

Looking down at my own attire I offer up a smile. "I'll change after breakfast."

We fall into a comfortable silence, each of us enjoying our breakfast. I chance a look at Ashley and notice she's smiling, which causes me to smile as well. Moving my attention, I notice Jess looking over at Terri with a smirk on her face. I roll my eyes and start to laugh just slightly, causing Terri to notice just where Jess' eyes are. She proceeds to smack Jess in the back of the head.

"Ow, okay, the whole hitting me thing, completely unnecessary." Jess says while rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, if you weren't perving on my body, then I wouldn't have to resort to violence."

"Hey! I wasn't perving, okay, I was appreciating." Terri rolls her eyes and the rest of us laugh.

"And now you can stop."

"Fine. But you should take it as a compliment, it's just my way of saying you look good." Jess says smirking in Terri's direction.

Terri puts on the biggest, fakest smile she has and turns to face Jess. "Thank you so much." She says sarcastically.

"On that note, I'll go change." I announce getting up from the table.

"You want us to wait for you?"

"No, you guys go ahead, I'll meet you down there." I tell Kyla before leaving the table.

I walk into the bedroom and quickly go to my bag, finding my bathing suit and putting it on. A few minutes later I'm standing in front of the mirror, running a brush through my hair and putting it up into a ponytail. Glancing one last time in the mirror, I make my way into the living room, where I find Ashley sitting on one of the couches.

"Did you change your mind about the beach?"

"No actually. I forgot my sunscreen." She looks up and gives me her nose wrinkling smile and I melt. I'm pretty much a puddle covered in blonde hair. "Then I decided to just wait for you."

"Well that was nice of you."

She gets off the couch and makes her way over to me. Her body is pressed firmly to my own, my back against the wall, her hand moving up my thigh and resting on my hip. I lick my lips as I feel her hand move against my stomach lightly. Her eyes are fixed on my own, her gaze only shifting when she whispers in my ear. "You'll come to find, I'm very nice."

"Will I?" I manage to ask as my brain tries to get back to working order.

She takes a step back and smiles and nods her head. "Uh huh." Then she moves her eyes across my body. Moving from my legs, to my stomach, then lingering on my lips before finally looking into my eyes. "Just thought I'd show some appreciation." She winks before turning and walking away.

I smile, thinking back to what Jess had said, a blush creeping onto my cheeks as I follow her out.

-

We've been on the beach for a few hours. I'm lying on a beach towel away from the water as I watch Kyla, Terri, and Chelsea in it splashing each other, while Jess is sitting on the shore, a determined look on her face as she rebuilds sand castle number four. Ashley is sitting a little ways away from everyone and staring off into the ocean. I smile to myself for a second before getting up and going to sit next to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She laughs for a second before turning to face me. "If that's all you're offering, I don't think you can afford them."

I smile and shrug. "Quarter for your thoughts then?"

"That's more like it…money I can splurge with."

"Yeah and if you play your cards right, I might even throw in a nickel." I say with a wink.

She laughs again, the smile staying on her face. "No need, I don't want you going broke on my account."

"Good." I look out in front of me, watching the waves crashing onto the shore. We sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before I decide to break it. "So, you're really not gonna tell me?"

She shrugs then looks back out into the ocean. "I was just thinking about people."

"Yeah? What about them?"

She looks at me for a moment, seems to be studying my face, before answering. "Do you think people can change?"

"I guess."

"I mean, really change. Like change the person they are, right their wrongs…make up for their mistakes."

"I don't know." A sad smile crosses her face and she turns to look at the water again. "I hope so. I think it'd be nice."

"Yeah…" She gets up and wipes the sand off her shorts and her hands. "Well, I'm gonna head in."

I smile up at her and nod my head. "Okay."

"I guess I'll see you on the inside." She says with a wink.

I laugh as I watch her walk towards the others, passing Kyla on the way.

"Hey, Spence."

"Hey, how was the water?"

She takes a seat and shrugs. "Cold."

"And that is why I stayed on dry land."

"Very wise decision." She's quiet for a while, so I know something's up. "So, how are you?"

I knew it was coming. "I'm fine."

"No, I mean, how are you?" Her voice is a little more serious and her eyes are trained on me. "Since the break up."

"Again, I say I'm fine." She gives me a skeptical look and I roll my eyes. "Really, I'm fine. We broke up, it happens…and honestly I'm over it." I say, a certain brunette finding her way into my mind.

Kyla stares at me, trying to gauge the truth in my statement. "Good. 'Cause you can do so much better." I can't help but laugh.

"What are we talking about?" Chelsea asks as her, Terri, and Jess walk over, taking a seat around Kyla and I.

"Her bitch of an ex." Kyla says as I shake my head.

"What about Voldemort?"

"Jess!"

"What? You said I couldn't call her bitchtastic, you said nothing about Voldemort."

I roll my eyes. "How about you don't call her anything?"

"I don't know Spence, I think Voldemort's a little fitting. I mean, the girl is evil."

"Not you too, Terri."

"Sorry." She says with a smirk.

"So, I take it none of you liked her?" I ask as I look around, my eyes landing on the faces of each of my friends.

"Not even a little." Chelsea says and we all laugh.


	3. Beautifully Tinted Skin

I don't know how I feel about this chapter but it's been too long...so yeah.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to Tommy Lynch.

**Beautifully Tinted Skin  
**

I walk out onto the balcony to find Ashley sitting down at one of the chairs there, staring off into the water in front of her.

"So, this whole staring off at the water thing, is that like an obsession of yours?"

She smiles to herself and turns to look at me. "Maybe."

"A woman of mystery…I like it."

She chuckles lightly and I take a seat beside her. "So, what brings you out here?"

"That's a very good question…"

She turns to face me and quirks an eyebrow. "Yeah? You plan on answering it?" She asks when I don't say anything.

I can't help but smile. "Just taking a break from celebrating our first night." I say gesturing behind me.

Ashley leans over her chair, her brown curls falling down either side of her face as she peers through the glass sliding doors. I can't help that my eyes stay trained on her face longer then they probably should. I watch as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth for just a moment before releasing it and running her tongue over it. I stay locked on her face, a smile taking over mine, before finally copying her actions and looking in on Terri sitting on Jess' lap, her hips rolling and thrusting into the smiling girl beneath her. I turn just in time to see Ashley smile and shake her head before sitting back in her chair, with me following suit.

"What is she doing?" She asks, her head moving in the direction behind us.

"Well, from what I can tell, she's giving a really enjoyable lap dance."

"I can see that. Question is why?"

I shrug. "I don't know. One minute we're talking about shoes and the next thing I know, she's going on about lap dances and needing to practice." We both turn back and watch as Terri slows her movements down, making sure to emphasize each and every roll and thrust of her hips as her hands land on Jess' head and gently pushes and pulls.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't look like she needs anymore practice."

I can't help but laugh as I continue to watch Terri. "Probably not."

"So, how'd Jess swing that?"

"What?"

"Getting Terri to practice on her."

"It wasn't as hard as you'd think." I say turning to face her.

"Yeah?"

I nod. "Uh huh, Terri wanted someone that could give her adequate feedback."

"And she chose Jess?" She asks, a look of confusion on her face.

"It was more of a process of elimination. I mean, Chelsea and Kyla are both straight so they couldn't possibly fully enjoy it."

"Of course not." She says sarcastically, a smile playing at her lips.

"And when it came down to me and Jess, I very politely declined."

Ashley smiles as her eyes move inside, watching Terri finish off her dance. "I think she's really happy you made that decision." I laugh with her as I follow her gaze, noticing the huge smile on Jess' face as Kyla and Chelsea start to clap and Terri tries to bow, but drunkenly stumbles instead.

We both turn back, Ashley looking out at the water while I'm watching her out of the corner of my eye. We're both silent. The silence isn't uncomfortable and I relax into it.

I clear my throat and turn to face her completely. "So why are you out here?"

"I have that whole staring out at the water obsession remember?" She says with a smirk.

I can't help but smile. "I'm serious."

She shrugs then looks me in the eyes. "It's quiet out here. Not so much in there." The words have barely left her lips before we hear a loud scream coming from behind us. Turning around, we watch as Kyla hops onto the coffee table singing off key to the song that's playing.

We both laugh.

"I think my point has just been made."

I nod with a huge smile on my face. "That it has."

She smiles then turns to face me.

-

I don't know how it happened, but somehow Kyla, in her drunken state, convinced Ashley and I to join in on a game of never have I ever. Honestly, I think she only wanted us to play so she could get us as drunk as the rest of them were.

We walk into the room to find everyone else sitting on the floor around the coffee table. I take a seat next to Jess as my eyes land on the various kinds of alcohol.

Kyla walks into the room last, holding a hat in her hands and stops in front of the rest of us. "We have to pick battle buddies!" Her face has a look of concentration on it that can only be caused by a few drinks. I can't help but smile.

"What are battle buddies?" Ashley asks looking around at all of us.

"Well, inside this hat, are our three names written on separate pieces of paper. You, Spencer, and Terri each get to choose one piece of paper and whoever's name is on it, they'll be you're battle buddy for the night." Chelsea says gesturing to the hat and at each of us. Obviously she's the least drunk besides Ashley and I. "Which means, you have to match that person drink for drink for the entire game."

"Oh, okay."

"So, who wants to choose first?!" Kyla asks, the excitement evident.

Terri, Ashley, and I all look at each other before Terri raises her hand. "Me! Me!"

She gets up from her spot beside Jess, swaying just slightly, and goes to Kyla and reaches her hand into the hat. She shuffles the three names for a bit before pulling out a piece of paper and returning to her seat. I'm the next one to get up. I place my hand in the hat and go back and forth between the two before finally picking the one on the right. Kyla pulls out the last piece of paper and hands it to Ashley.

"Okay, who's with who?"

The three of us take a deep breath before opening up our folded pieces of paper. I let out a sigh of relief when I see the name on my piece of paper. "I got Kyla." I say a big smile on my face.

"I got Chelsea." Ashley says with a shrug.

Terri tosses her piece of paper on the floor and leans back into the couch, her arms crossed in front of her body. "I have Jess." She says with a pout. We all give her a sympathetic look.

"Oh, come on Terri. It won't be that bad." I try to hide the smile that's taking over my face as Jess throws her arm around Terri and pulls her in.

I have had the lucky streak to have never been paired with Jess, considering her amount of experience, I know that both her and Terri will be kicking them back often. I wouldn't trade places with Terri for the world. Ashley lucked into getting Chelsea. Kyla, on the other hand, will definitely give me a run for my money. I'm just hoping that they'll call the game quits before I've had too much to drink.

We move the coffee table aside after each of us grabbed a beer or two for the game. I'm sitting facing Chelsea, with Terri to my left and Ashley to my right, Terri is facing Jess and Ashley's facing Kyla.

"Okay, everybody ready?" We all bring our drinks in front of us and wait. "You know the drill, if you've done it, drink. Remember you have to drink every time your battle buddy does." We all nod our understanding. I think Chelsea likes this game a little too much…I think it has something to do with the fact that she always wins.

"Alright, Jess you're first, then me, then Kyla and so on and so forth." She says gesturing in a circle.

Jess thinks for a second before a smile appears on her face. "Never have I ever…had sex with a guy." We all drink, even though under normal circumstances, Ashley and Jess wouldn't have to.

The rest of us roll our eyes as Chelsea thinks about hers. "Never have I ever…dated two people in the same family." Jess scoffs when she drinks, causing Terri to have to drink with her.

"Okay, um…" Kyla scratches the back of her neck as she thinks of what to say. "Um…Never have I ever walked in on my parents having sex." She smiles triumphantly as we all drink, then frowns slightly when she remembers that she has to drink as well.

Ashley sits up slightly at her turn. "Never have I ever…had a threesome." Jess and Kyla drink like I expected them to, but I'm surprised when I see Terri drink twice, once for her and once for Jess.

"Wait a minute." I say turning to face Terri. "You have to spill."

She rolls her eyes. "No."

"Oh, come on."

"No."

"Please?" I ask getting on my knees.

"No."

"Pretty Please?"

"No Spencer."

"Fine. It's my turn anyway." I pout as I sit back down trying to come up with something to say. "Never have I ever, um, gotten arrested." Jess, Kyla, and Ashley all smile at each other before each taking a drink. "Okay, this I've got to hear."

I only have to wait for a second before Ashley speaks up. "Their freshman year, my junior year, we got really bored one night and decided to go have some fun. And to make a long story short, we found out that people don't like it when you go skinny dipping in their pool and hot tub." The three of them shrug innocently as the rest of us just laugh. "They didn't press chargers but the lovely officers thought we'd learn our lesson if we spent a night in a holding cell."

-

I slip out into the balcony, a beer in my hands. I take in a deep breath and the smell of the ocean seems to invade my senses. I'm a little more than buzzed, four rounds of never have I ever being the cause. Three of those rounds won by Chelsea and the last one by Ashley. By the end of the game Terri and Jess were both beyond drunk with Kyla not far behind, all three passed out about an hour ago. I'm one of the last few, if not the only one, still awake.

I take a step towards the railing, leaning against it as a soft breeze blows by.

"I didn't expect you to still be up."

A smile spreads across my face as the sound of Ashley's voice rings in my ears. "I'm not really all that tired." I say as I turn around completely to face her.

"Yeah, me neither." She smiles as her eyes move up to meet mine. "Mind if I join you?" She asks as she gestures to the chair across from me.

"No." She gives me a grateful nod before taking a seat.

"So…"

"So…"

"About this morning…" She says with a smirk. I can't help the blush that covers my face. "You blush a lot, you know that?"

"I know." I answer as my head ducks down, attempting to hide the darker shade of my blush.

Before I know it, she's right in front of me, so close I can smell the strawberry scent of her shampoo. She brings her hand to my chin and guides my head up until my eyes come level with hers. She's wearing a shy smile and I can't help lowering my gaze again. "No, don't. I think it's cute." I bring my eyes to look into hers and she's staring at me intently. Her hand moves from its spot on my chin to place a few stray hairs behind my right ear, before cupping my face and stroking my cheek gently.

"I must be pretty damn adorable right about now then."

She smiles wider before nodding. "You are."

We stand like that for a few minutes, neither one of us moving, both of us barely breathing before she slowly drops her hand and takes a seat on the chair behind her, her eyes never once leaving mine. I lean my back against the railing again, hoping to slow the beating of my heart.


End file.
